


To The Sea, To The Sea

by raendown



Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - Mythology, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-10
Updated: 2017-12-10
Packaged: 2019-02-13 01:15:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,799
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12972486
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/raendown/pseuds/raendown
Summary: Searching for a brother kidnapped by slavers, Madara certainly never expected to accidentally summon what appears to be a water spirit. And hecertainlynever expected the spirit to help him.





	To The Sea, To The Sea

Summoning a water entity hadn’t exactly been Madara’s intention. In fact, it hadn’t been at all his intention. What he’d really wanted was to test a locator spell to see if it would work over water. The men who had taken his brother were last seen leaving this port and if he could only see which way they had set off he would have a better guess where to follow.

Getting soaked by the arrival of a sudden water spirit – or what he assumed to be a sprit – was not on the list of things he had expected that particular spell to accomplish. Madara couldn’t seem to move from where he was kneeling on the edge of the quay, stunned into immobilization by the figure floating in the water before him. If he was reading the being’s expression properly, the one he had accidentally summoned was just as surprised to be here as Madara was to see him. At least, that was what he assumed from the wide eyes, slightly cocked head, and full lips just barely parted in disbelief.

He looked like a man, if men’s hands and feet were meant to be covered in silvery scales. His flesh was so pale it was nearly translucent and the white of his hair was reminiscent of crashing sea foam, pale blue where it met his scalp. His eyes were a brilliant coral red to match the three sharp lines which decorated his face. He wore nothing but what appeared to be strips of blue and red plant life of some sort, woven together in to what resembled a kilt. Madara absently noted that, were he human, he would have been the most beautiful man to ever walk the earth.

“What need have you of the sea?” the creature asked him finally. The pleasant baritone of his voice was nearly enough to distract from the way he seemed to float with no effort on his part to do so. Neither his arms nor his legs moved to tread water yet he stayed perfectly in place, not even bobbing with the waves.

“I didn’t mean to call you, oh spirit.” Madara fumbled about for the right words to say. “I was only looking for a way to find my brother.”

“Has he been taken by the water?”

“By men who crossed the water. Slavers.”

The creature pulled back his lips and hissed, revealing a mouthful of sharp fangs. Madara was fairly sure they were supposed to be frightening, not attractive, and he wondered what was wrong with him that he was more inclined towards the second.

“I shall find you your brother,” the spirit declared. “The sea does not take kindly to those who trail misery in their wake. They are as cruel to my children as they are to yours.”

“You’re going to help me?” Baffled though he might be by such a kind act, Madara was hardly the type to refuse such a boon. Any help was good help at this point. He recovered quickly enough to declare his intention to procure a boat and hurried down the quay to do just that.

His spirit followed along beside him in the water, insisting that it would be much faster if they didn’t bother with such clumsy human contraptions. Madara pointed out with a touch of annoyance that he was human himself and therefore needed it. He couldn’t exactly float effortlessly like the other could. The spirit didn’t seem entirely convinced but he also did nothing to impede Madara as he snuck off with the first craft he found that might survive the ocean waters and could also be piloted by one man.

Four days they travelled across the open ocean together, days during which Madara ate fish that the spirit brought to him and drank water that rightfully should not have existed. The first night he had gone to bed after worrying aloud that the single barrel of water on this craft would not last very long. When he awoke the next morning, and every morning after that, the barrel had replenished itself as though by magic. He very carefully neither mentioned this odd happenstance nor wasted even a single drop, not wanting to risk offending the other and having this phenomenon taken away.

Madara had more than just magic water to hold his attention, however. During those four days at sea he learned many things about the water spirit which guided him. He learned that the being’s name was Tobirama and that he was ostensibly as old as the sea itself. The creatures of the sea spoke with him and the waters of the oceans answered his bidding. With but the wave of one hand he created waves to propel Madara’s schooner at speeds that shouldn’t have been possible without a much heavier wind.

No matter how many times he asked, Tobirama refused to say why he was helping Madara to find his brother. It became more and more clear that the summoning had been accidental on both their parts, that Madara’s spell didn’t have the power to call him here and Tobirama had not meant to appear where he did. They were not bound together in any manner yet still the spirit led him onwards. It made little sense but now was not the time to force answers and so he let the matter drop.

On the fourth night Tobirama quieted the waves as they crept up behind a large ship that Madara recognized as the one which had taken his brother captive, the one he’d been following for two weeks now. He stood on the bow of his schooner and glared up at the black sails above him, vowing that if his brother did not still live, every pirate on board that ship would lose their lives as well.

“Do we go to war?” Tobirama asked him in a solemn voice. Madara blinked, startled out of his blood-thirsty reverie.

“What would a water spirit know of war?” he asked. In answer he received a grin full of sharp teeth.

Getting on board the ship was easy. A swell of water rose at a twitch of Tobirama’s finger and deposited them on the deck, out of sight of whatever watch had been set up. For a being of water Tobirama was incredibly graceful as he walked, the whole of his body rolling like the seas that made his home. Strangely, he did not drip.

They crept through the quiet darkness of the ship’s underbelly until at last they came to the lowest floor where each footstep sloshed through several inches of waste and brine. Bodies filled the room, each of them chained to the wall and to each other, and several heads turned at the sound of their approach, flinching as though expecting some sort of blow or attack. Madara passed them by and continued to examine faces in search of his brother. Oddly, though they had never met before, it was Tobirama who spotted him first.

“Izuna of the line Uchiha,” Tobirama’s musical voice rang throughout the underdeck. “We have come for you.”

“Who the _fuck_ –”

“Brother!” The moment he heard his brother’s voice Madara hurried forward to greet the younger man. Izuna gaped at him, standing next to such an otherworldly looking creature without even blinking an eye, both of them seeming to appear as though from nowhere in the middle of the night.

“How did you get here?” Izuna demanded. Madara shook his head.

“Explanations later. We have to get you out of here.”

He reached down to pick the lock on the manacle around his brother’s ankle, stopping when he was down on one knee as a voice spoke up from across the room.

“And what about the rest of us, eh?”

“Yeah, you can’t just leave us here!”

Madara looked around helplessly. There was only so much room on his schooner; he could hardly fit them all on there. He wanted to, of course. Leaving any of them to the hands of slavers was terrible. But he had come for his brother and he wasn’t about to let any of these people stop him from freeing his sibling, even if it meant he had to abandon every last one of them to their fate.

Before any fights could start, however, the decision was taken out of his hands. A hand landed on his shoulder and Madara looked up to see Tobirama grinning down at him with too many teeth again, each of them sharply pointed. In his peripheral vision he could see the way others in the room drew back from the intimidating figure as best they could but Madara found himself full of a strange desire to get closer to that grin.

“Remain here. None above deserve to continue travelling my seas. All will be freed.”

Without waiting for an answer, Tobirama turned and walked away. His footsteps did not slosh the way Madara’s had and a quick glance downward revealed that it was because he was somehow walking along the surface of the water rather than through it. Swallowing thickly, Madara turned back to the manacles on his brother’s leg and hoped no one else had noticed.

Four minutes later when the screams began, it was hard to hope no one noticed those.

Tobirama’s weapon of choice wasn’t hard to guess, even without the sound of crashing waves or the water dripping down through the planks above their heads. Thick streams sloshed down the stairway to the lowers levels. When the only lamp in the room swayed over in that direction they could plainly see the stains of red which clouded the water and those who could stumbled away from it.

Under the slightly panicked eyes of his now freed brother, Madara stood up and tossed the pin he’d used to a woman crouched nearby. She caught it with a feverish grin and set to work on her own chains as Izuna kicked out of his.

“You gonna tell me what’s going on _now_?” The young man demanded. “What is that…thing? He isn’t human, that’s for sure!”  Madara scowled.

“He’s a water spirit, to my knowledge, and it was only thanks to his help that I was able to find you so quit complaining.”

“What did he ask for in return? Spirits always ask for something in return.”

Madara shifted uncomfortably. Tobirama had not, in fact, asked for anything. He had noticed of course and thought it was odd but at the time he’d been more focused on finding his brother. Any ill that befell him on his journey was more than worth it if he knew Izuna was somewhere safe once more. He had no idea what the spirit would want or why he hadn’t asked for something yet but that would have to be dealt with when it came.

For now he only shook his head and pulled another small pin out from his jacket to pass around so more of the others could work on their shackles. In the far corner a mother was holding her son, weeping on his shoulder, and Madara was glad that he hadn’t had to leave any of these people behind. He would have done it in an instant, he could freely admit that, but he was certain he would have heard their cries in his nightmares for years afterward.

By the time Tobirama returned nearly half the almost-slaves had managed to free themselves and Izuna had filled his big brother in on what their journey had been like. Madara was in the middle of promising him a large meal of whatever food he wished when the frightened gasps drew his attention to the stairway.

Somewhere along the line Tobirama appeared to have picked up a torch of his own, carrying it with delicate fingers far away from his body. The light of it illuminated his otherworldly features for all to see, the sharp teeth, the too-white flesh and dual-toned hair, the silvery scales that covered his hands and feet. As the initial shock of him passed, Madara also noticed some of the others eyeing the kilt of seaweed that only barely covered certain interesting bits, leaving perfectly sculpted thighs on display.

He said nothing as he paced across the water swirling around their ankles to come to a stop at Madara’s side, looking utterly pleased with himself. Although it wasn’t really necessary at this point, Izuna evidently felt compelled to ask, “Are they all, er, dead?”

“None survived, Izuna of the line Uchiha.”

“Please stop saying my name like that…”

“The sea belongs to those who would treat her kindly.”

Raising his eyebrows up so high they threatened to merge with his hairline, Izuna turned to give his brother a look that questioned his sanity. Madara bristled. Alright, so Tobirama was a bit weird. He was a _spirit_ , one could hardly expect him to behave by human standards. Not to mention, he had helped hadn’t he? Without him Madara may never have been able to find his brother and he very well may have been sold in to slavery.

“Your help has been invaluable,” Madara told the water spirit pointedly, giving his little brother a look of his own. Being rude at this point would help neither of them. Tobirama’s expression turned smug, as though he knew something that Madara did not, but made no reply.

As it turned out, several of the people taken captive had been sailors on other ships that this one had taken over, just enough to crew the vessel to the closest friendly port. The younger ones stayed below until the adults could clear the deck and hallways of all the dead bodies lying about, some drowned, some crushed, some impaled upon whatever sharp objects they had been crashed in to. Tobirama did not assist with the cleanup and not a single person had the courage to ask him to. He stood on the bow and looked out over the ink black waters, face turned unerringly towards the north as he described in a strangely convoluted way to an adolescent girl how to navigate only by the stars.

With his stolen schooner having drifted off, Madara had no choice but to stay with the rest of them for the next few days at sea. He could not explain, however, why Tobirama chose to stay with them as well. As far as he could tell the spirit did not sleep and he spent his days watching over the endless waves, never venturing below unless Madara asked him to come look at something. No mention was ever made of leaving and Madara refrained from bringing up the topic.

Oddly – or perhaps not so oddly – he dreaded the time when they would part ways. It wasn’t every day that a man received the help of the Other Folk, after all, although in the privacy of his own thoughts he was honest enough to admit that he had other reasons for not wanting Tobirama to go. Each moment they spent together was filled with a magnetic kind of pull. He found everything about the spirit fascinating, from his looks to the way his mind worked, from the sound of his voice to the incredible tales he had to tell. Madara found himself wishing the other were human more often than was likely proper – and for reasons that were definitely improper.

Five days after being reunited with his brother their designated lookout spotted land. Madara stared out at the smudge slowly appearing on the horizon and felt something heavy settled in his chest. It seemed their time together had too soon come to an end.

“You are not happy to see land approach,” Tobirama noted, appearing soundlessly at his side. Madara shifted uncomfortably.

“I’m grateful for all that you’ve done for me,” he murmured. “I’m just…a little disappointed that I could not spend more time in your company.”

“Have you a reason you cannot spend more time in my company?” Honestly, the mischievous tone of his voice really should have sent up some red flags. Madara’s only excuse was that he was too distracted to notice.

“You’re a spirit of the sea. Land isn’t where you belong.”

“Are you saying I am less adaptable than a human? Humans could not live among the sea until you built such creations as the one upon which you stand.”

Madara brightened momentarily at the thought of Tobirama coming ashore, then the brightness faded as quickly as it had come. “But you couldn’t stay.”

“Do you wish for me to stay at your side, Madara?”

The simple use of his name, so informal compared to the way the spirit addressed any other person, sent shivers down his spine. It was that which gave him the courage to look up at the being next to him and give an honest answer.

“Yes.”

“And if it is not possible for me to stay at your side upon the land would you be agreeable to living among the sea to be at mine?”

“I…” Madara swallowed thickly. “Yes. I’d sail the sea from end to end if you would promise to visit sometimes.” He blinked in surprise when Tobirama laughed softly.

“You misunderstand me. I do not ask you to sail the sea but to live among her as I do.”

Madara frowned. “You do know that humans can’t breathe underwater, right? That’s why we built boats in the first place.”

When Tobirama took a step closer to him, so close he could feel a surprising amount of heat coming off the other’s body, his breath caught in his throat and his heart began to pound. Madara didn’t dare to move as a silvery hand came up to caress his cheek, surprising him with the softness of the scales that decorated those thin fingers.

“Has it not come to you yet?” Tobirama asked him in a quiet voice. “Would a simple incantation such as the one you attempted have summoned a being of the Other Folk? It would not. I was curious to know who was using such powers within my waters and came to investigate – and when I saw you I knew that I could not allow you from my sight so soon.”

“What _are_ you?” Madara whispered.

“I am the sea.”

Gaping, trying hard to wrap his mind around that, Madara blurted, “Like a _god_?”

“I believe that is the human term for my status, yes. You would perhaps call me the god of the sea.”

“Oh holy crap… _holy crap_ …I…wow.”

“I _am_ the sea, Madara, and if I wish you to have the ability to breathe within the waters as I do then the power is mine to grant you that. So I ask again: will you stay at my side? There are many things that are mine to give; long life, riches beyond your wildest imagining, powers of which you have only dreamed. All of them I would give to you.”

Finally drawing one good, deep breath, Madara asked the only question that mattered to him. “Would I still be able to visit my brother?” In return he was graced with the most beautiful smile he had ever seen.

“Your love of family speaks well of you and I would not dream of asking you to sacrifice that which you have worked so diligently to protect. Of course you shall see your brother again, as often as you wish.”

“So…you helped me and the only thing you ask in return is for me to live in the sea for the rest of eternity?” Giddy with feelings he could barely describe, Madara grinned wildly even as he leaned forward and crossed that tiny distance between them, pressing his body against Tobirama’s. “Maybe Izuna was right about you; you _are_ after my soul.”

“Is that a yes?” Tobirama asked him, raising one eyebrow. The smirk forming on his lips said he already knew the answer.

“Oh yes,” Madara breathed, tilting his head up.

The god before him wasted no time bending down to capture his mouth in a kiss. Probably not a lot of people could say that they had kissed a god and Madara wondered instantly if it was because none of them had survived the experience. His heart was surely about to beat out of his chest, his lungs collapse from lack of breathing, his brain implode from the inability to process the incredible sensations rippling through him. His entire body tingled from head to toe and there was the strangest sensation of heat crawling down his throat.

When they pulled apart Madara was panting and only Tobirama’s arms around his waist kept him on his feet, knees weak and legs shaking. He opened his mouth to say something and then stopped when the other shook his head sharply.

“Let the magic settle first.” At Madara’s panicked expression he only chuckled. “You wanted to be able to breathe under the waters and now you shall do so.” It took a few minutes for the heat in his throat to fade and he hummed a few times experimentally before speaking again.

“I don’t feel any different.”

“Nor do I and yet I have been changed by our meeting in many ways. From the moment I saw you I was changed.”

“Are you always going to be this sappy?” Madara grumbled, not displeased in the slightest but embarrassed by such open affection.

Tobirama hummed, not answering either way, and pulled him up for another kiss that rattled his knees once more.

Later he would have to find a way to tell Izuna of his decision. He would need to find his brother a way home as well and of course he had every intention of accompanying him on that journey. If he had eternity at Tobirama’s side to look forward to then the god of the sea could be patient for a couple more weeks. After that he would need to find a way to say goodbye to the very few friends he had made back home. He wasn’t close enough to any of them to make him regret his decision but they did deserve a farewell, he supposed.

All of that, however, could wait at least until they made port. Which wouldn’t be hours yet, thereby leaving them with plenty of time to bask in the beginning of the rest of their lives. Madara grinned as he took hold of Tobirama’s arms and gently began to pull him back towards the cabins. A little privacy never hurt anyone and after spending the last week watching Tobirama prance about in nothing but a tiny kilt he was more than eager to see where else kissing might lead them.

Probably somewhere wonderful.


End file.
